A Sprint spokeswoman told TPM on Thursday that an employee’s attempt to promote the company while being interviewed on Fox News about a shooting was “inappropriate” and the company plans to take action.
The employee, Tom Dailey, was interviewed over the phone on Wednesday by Fox host Shepard Smith. Dailey, who worked near the movie theater in Nashville, Tennessee told the news channel he overheard the shooting that resulted in the death of a man who attacked moviegoers with pepper spray and a hatchet.
While on air, the employee twice promoted Sprint’s sales event.
“We work at Sprint, where we cut your bill in half,” he said, after Smith asked him where he worked in relation to the shooting’s location.
Smith paused the interview to call out the on-air advertisement.
Sprint plans to “work with the dealer management team to determine the appropriate course of action,” company spokeswoman Roni Singleton said in an email to TPM.
“Like others we were saddened by the news, and our thoughts are with all of those impacted by yesterday’s tragedy,” she said in the email. “Clearly the decision made by an employee at one of our dealer-owned stores to mention one of our recent promotions was inappropriate during a tragic situation.”
